With each passing year, technology becomes more and more advanced. While many people associate technology with the latest smartphone or tablet, others realize that it goes much deeper than this, often reaching the medical field.

Technology has changed the treatment of spinal cord injuries. It is the hope of those involved with research that technology can become more prominent in this area of medicine. There are many devices that can help people with a spinal cord injury live a better life. These include but are not limited to:

— Modern wheelchairs. With better mobility and comfort, anybody who relies on a wheelchair to get around can now do so in a more efficient manner.

— Computer adaptations. If individuals have limited hand function, as the result of a spinal cord injury, they can use a voice recognition system, for instance, to provide assistance.

— Robotic gait training. As emerging technology, this is something the medical field is excited about. With this, technology is used to retrain a person to walk again following a spinal cord injury.

When a person suffers a spinal cord injury, it is difficult to understand the long term impact. Fortunately, technology has come a long way. There are many ways this is helping people live a better life.

If you or a loved one suffer a spinal cord injury, it’s important to understand the type of technology that is available. One or more system could go a long way in helping you recover from your injury, regardless of the extent or initial cause.

Source: Mayo Clinic, “Treatments and drugs,” accessed Feb. 24, 2016